PARROTS
by Otaku Tess
Summary: Sexual Themes. Mild language. MGS2 Spoilers. Otacon tells Snake about his past. From Snake's POV. Both Endings! Please R & R!
1. Part I

**_Disclaimer:_** Metal Gear Solid, Snake, Otacon et. al. is © Konami and Hideo Kojima. I am just borrowing them. Please don't flog me with wet noodles. But, I am the creative genius behind Axe Nightengale, so you can't have her. She's © to Tessa Cox. Thank you.**  
**

  
  
"PARROTS"  
By: Otaku Tess  
  


  


Here's a Time Line, to make things a little easier for me to write, and for you, humble reader, to keep things straight:  
__  
When Otacon is born his Mom is 28 and his pop is 24.  
When Otacon's Mom dies at the age of 31, Otacon is 3 and his pop is 27.  
When Emma is born her mother, Julie_, is 20. Otacon is 12 and his pop is 36.  
Otacon meets Emma at the time that their parents start dating. Otacon is 16 at this time (And starting college at MIT On-line! _Weee... On line college... neeeaaaat... -pshh- I wish._), his Pop is 40, Julie is 24, and Emma is 4.  
A year later Otacon's pop and Julie get hitched. Otacon is 17, his pop is 41, Julie is 25, and Emma is 5.  
After about a year of a seemingly happy marriage things go down hill... And a barely legal Otacon is seduced by a vile temptress.... Err.... Blee. *ahem*  
Shortly after Emma's 7th birthday he leaves home, _guilt stricken, sobbing, with his head on the floor._ *ahem*  
He then attends Princeton and earns his Ph.D.... many times over as far as I can tell because he already was revered as a genius... And he accomplished many fantastical feats of science while attending Princeton, graduated, and went on to do lots of _cool _scientific stuff.  
He started working with ArmsTECH on the Metal Gear at about 30, and was 32 when he met Snake! ^___^ Phew....  
  
_

**Birthdays:**  
Otacon: February - Pisces  
Emma: June - Cancer  
Julie: April - Aries/Taurus  
Otacon's Pop: August 6 - Leo (I wanted him to be a Libra, but they already said his birthday)  
  


**Chapter One  
  
**

I stood in the doorway of the little den in my cabin. Otacon and I had been hiding out there. Though the Son's of Liberty incident at the Plant had been taken care of (only a few days ago, actually), there was still a price on our heads. It was safe out here. No-one would find us ... and it was best to lie low, at least until something came up.  
  
Otacon was sitting curled up in a rocking chair by the fireplace. The parrot sat quietly above the door frame I was standing under, it was perched on a trophy deer's antlers opposite of the fireplace. Otacon hadn't moved since we'd gotten back. He occasionally got up to feed the fire and other bare necessities, but most of the time he sat there in that rocking chair staring into the fire. I'd left him alone for the passed two days, but at this point he was beginning to worry me. Particularly since he had seemed fine up until we had both gotten back, he'd maintained a very professional demeanor after the loss of his sister, at least until we got back to the cabin ... then he just fell apart. I couldn't explain it.  
  
He has never acted like this before. I know he's mourning ... but he can't just sit there like that, in a daze. -- I needed his help. We still had work to do. There was so much left unanswered about the Son's Of Liberty incident and the Patriots, not to mention our prime objective: the eradication of Metal Gears...  
  
I crept up quietly behind him, not with the intention of being sneaky, but more by habit. I sat down in the cushioned chair beside Otacon. He didn't move. He only stared into the fire place. I looked him up and down. He was wearing old sweat pants and an oversized T-shirt. His legs were folded up against his body and his chin was rested on his knees. The only movement was the reflection of the fire dancing around in his glasses.   
  
"..." I ventured. He didn't notice me. Should I even bother him...? I let out a heavy sigh, watching him all the while. Nothing. "... Otacon?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Otacon, you can't just sit here like this." I said sympathetically.  
  
He shifted slightly. The previously inert rocking chair creaked then became stationary once more. I had his attention now. Good.  
  
_Great. Now what do I say to him?_ I don't normally attempt to be tactful, but this was a delicate situation. I had never seen Otacon act like this before. He was always such an optimist and it was disturbing, almost frightening, to see him this distraught.  
  
"Otacon..." I began, "We have to get back to work." So much for tact.  
"I'm sorry." A small voice from the rocking chair piped up after a moment. Otacon still hadn't moved, but he'd at least spoken.  
  
"What for?" I asked after a pause.  
  
"I've probably worried you." He said blankly. "I didn't mean to."  
  
"..."  
  
"I mean ... I know you know I don't _mean_ to..." He paused, "... I wish ... I was stronger."  
  
There was a long pause. "You're_ not _weak." I responded.  
  
"Maybe not." He agreed softly.  
  
"Hal..." The parrot cooed suddenly.  
  
This caused him to jerk in his chair and clasp his hands in front of his face, "But I'm a _coward_!" He wailed, "You don't want to see me like this..." He sobbed, I waited for him to calm down, but he just kept sniffling. _Remember. Tact.  
_  
"Otacon!" I blurted, standing up, and sitting him up straight, a little more roughly than I had intended. But he got the idea and looked up at me, "Will you get ahold of yourself!" _So much for Tact._ I sighed. He peered up at me over his glasses, his eyes were red and puffy now. He raised his hand to push his glasses back up his nose.  
  
"I try to move on, Snake." He answered solemnly. "But since it happened I can't seem to--"  
  
"Venus in Cancer." The parrot squawked. It didn't seem to like not being a part of the conversation.  
  
Otacon let out another sob and attempted to wave me out. "Dammit, Otacon!" I said harshly, "You can't just lose it like that every time the damn parrot makes a noise! You have to control yourself."  
  
"Maybe you could, Snake. But I _can't_. I'm not strong like you -- but it's certainly nice to know you'd get over it quickly if I was killed instead of --" He stopped short emitting a choked whimper, he then flopped his head back on his knees letting out a series of pained sobs.  
  
He was being hysterical.  
  
"Otacon, you _know_ you don't mean that. Please get ahold of yourself. I am trying to help." I said softly, but sternly.  
  
He sat quietly in the chair again, motionless.  
  
A long moment passed where neither of us said anything. The only sound was the fire crackling and the parrot occasionally fluttering around on its perch.  
  
I watched Otacon as he looked blankly at the hearth, he still had his knees tucked under his chin. I sat back down. My mind wandered from one thing to another as I kept my eyes on him.  
  
_Mmm..._ He always wore clothing that didn't fit him properly, in some way or another. Something really big or baggy. -- He was actually a very thin guy. When I'd first met him he was actually quite a fragile person, physically and mentally. He'd toughened up a bit since we'd met, but he was by no means a fighter, and never would be. He couldn't even hold a gun, really.  
  
Mentally... I _know_ he's stronger then when I met him, but right now he was falling apart. I could at least understand why, but he hadn't gotten this worked up when Sniper Wolf died. Granted this situation is somewhat different. I didn't know quite what he thought about the subject, though.  
  
Sometimes I worry that I'm a bad influence on him. It sounds a little cliche, but I do. Since Shadow Moses he's really gotten more involved with this whole war we're fighting.  
  
He's technically the "brains" of Philanthropy, but already he's seen more than a person like him probably should have. Though, I can't feel too bad, this was his decision too.  
  
I'd told him all about my past and what I'd seen -- how war had affected me and those around me, and he still insisted that this was something he had to do. He never really told me why though. I mean, I always had my ideas -- what with his family's history ... but he never really explained it all to me.  
  
Come to think of it. He'd never really told me anything -- I knew very little about Otacon's past. What I'd found out when his sister died was more than he had ever told to me. I hadn't known...  
  
"Otacon." I piped up again.  
  
"Mm...?" He murmured.  
  
"How come you never told me about your past? -- Your child hood. I told you all about my life. How come you never told me anything about you." I stated more than questioned.  
  
"You never asked?" He said lamely, looking over to me, somewhat sheepishly.  
  
"Otacon." I persisted.  
  
He sighed, giving in, "I guess I felt it was boring. I mean, you wouldn't really _want_ to hear about my child hood ... would you?"  
  
"But your sister and your step mother." I stated bluntly.  
  
He whimpered. "Snake, I could barely acknowledge that to _myself_." He swallowed. "Do you want to hear it?" He asked meekly, peering at me over the top of his glasses again.  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Time for a treat." The parrot whistled.  
  
Otacon sniffled, but kept control of himself, "Where do I start?"  
  
"At the beginning." I offered.  
  
  


**Chapter Two  
**  


"The beginning..." He sighed, "Well. Lets see." He settled down in the chair, finally setting his feet down on the floor. I watched him relax a little. He wanted to tell me, he was just waiting for the right opportunity. "Uhm... My mother and father worked together. Er... that's how they met. They were both engineers. They built air planes. -- I don't know a lot about their relationship, because my mother died when I was only 3 ... I don't remember her very well. My father only talked about her when I asked him, though -- I don't even _really_ know how she died. The only thing divulged to me was 'Work accident'. -- I think it hurt him a lot to talk, or even, think of her. He loved her a lot, I know that. Er -- He told me once that if he hadn't have had the responsibility to take care of me ... he would have completely fallen apart. -- He was ... not a strong man."  
  
"Hm..." I nodded.  
  
He paused, then continued, "He dedicated a lot of his time to work. Some of my earliest memories, that don't include my mother, are of the old lady next door baby-sitting me because my father had to work late. I started school as early as possible just so I would have some place to go during the day."  
  
"Oh, is _that _why your so smart?" I asked suddenly.  
  
He chuckled in spite of himself, "No... But I'm afraid I'll get to that..." He sighed, "No, school is no more than day care until the first grade, anyway." He paused again to look over at me, adjusting his glasses, "I hope I'm not boring you."  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Elementary school for me was ... well, erm. My only friend was -- this hefty blond kid named Knut, who stuck pennies up his nose." He chuckled again, "But I started home schooling in the fifth grade, anyway." He became solemn again, "Er... I -- I was teased a lot in school. The only thing I could really do to keep my mind off of the abuse was ... my school work."  
  
"Why did you stay there for so long?" I asked suddenly.  
  
"Well... I told my dad about it many times. He called the school a few times, but didn't really try to do anything. He didn't really _know _how bad it was for me there. -- I never really told him. I mean, he wasn't the sort of father that would get mad if you didn't fight back, but I just never wanted to bother him. He was busy enough as it was. I didn't want to ruin the time we _did_ have together by complaining."  
  
"What happened, though?" I asked curiously, "Why were you teased?"  
  
He sighed, answering with surprising bitterness. "You've got to have someone to pick on. Why not the gangly kid who won't fight back?"  
  
"..."  
  
"--I'm sorry. I sound bitter. I'm not. -- Bitter, I mean." He gulped. "At first they'd call me names. 'Four-Eyes.' 'Stick-boy.' Unimaginative things like that. I was able to ignore it. Stick to my work. I never even complained to my dad until the fourth grade--  
  
"Unfortunately, that was the year things started to go down hill, the fourth grade. People would throw things at me in class and snicker about it -- the teacher never saw who did it either. Things would get stolen from my back pack. And I had gotten so badly bruised during dodgeball games that I started lying to my teacher about some illness or something so I wouldn't have to participate in PE." He sighed, "Fortunately, I think she understood, because she gave me an -A regardless." He smiled slightly.  
  
"It seems that as the kids got older the bullies got meaner. -- I got beat up a few times. I started eating lunch with the teachers and having my dad walk me into class every morning. -- It was an inconvenience for my father, but he did it anyway ... not that it won me any popularity contests. Just another reason to throw Hal in a dumpster the next chance you got."  
  
I paused, "They probably regret it now..."  
  
"I hope so..." He sighed, "But, the summer before fifth grade my dad enrolled me in STAR."  
  
"STAR?"  
  
"School Transmitting and Receiving. It was kind of an underground thing for smart rich kids." He chuckled self consciously, taking a moment to fix his glasses, "You do all your school work over the Internet." He paused, giving me a slight smile, "It was around that time that I got into Japanese Animation."  
  
I chuckled.  
  
"Hey, Snake." He said, with half-mocking defensiveness. He knew I didn't mean anything by laughing. -- He'd shown me some of his "Animes" before. I didn't really get them. All of the characters looked the same, and the acting sounded like something a card board box could have done better. -- Of course he went on about how "The sub titled version of this series was much better and we could watch that one instead." But I told him I'd had enough Anime for a while.  
  
"Sorry." I smiled slightly, "Go on."  
  
"Well, by the time I should have been in the 6th grade my dad decided to give STAR a rest and send be back to 'Proper School'. The woman next door who had watched me while I stayed home had died, and my dad didn't want to have to look for a new sitter ... so I went back to school. Junior High... 7th grade." He continued, "I had a record breaking two friends that year. I can't remember the guy's name -- but the girl was named Angelena Nightingale ... and she was an Anime fan too." He smiled happily, in remembrance. It made me wonder what exactly was so special about her...  
  
"She was the person that introduced me to 'Anime-cons', actually... We went to one together during the summer after the 7th grade, but we seldom saw each other out side of school -- other than that ... but, er -- I did meet up with her again in college -- oh, but -- I'm getting ahead of myself.  
  
"Obviously Angelena left a bigger impression on me than, uhh... -- Clinton, I think his name was -- I think he might have only been my friend so he could copy my science homework but I was never all together sure. He might have just been afraid to admit he actually enjoyed my company. I didn't really mind it, I guess I understood. It's not easy being a closet Anime fan." He let out a small laugh.  
  
"Uhm ... Clinton was pretty popular, so he kept people from bothering me a lot of the time, but I was still picked on ... in classes we didn't have together I was an abuse magnet. -- I was way ahead of everyone there, and was in all sorts of advanced classes ... I was also very quiet. I had grown so unaccustomed to regular schooling." He sighed, "And I rode my bike to and from school now, so my father couldn't really protect me. -- Hmm.... My bike got stolen about 5 times.  
  
"Fortunately things were bearable, though. Angelena was my friend ... and she helped me deal with being teased. She'd been teased during Elementary School as well ... she was often targeted as 'the New Kid' because her parents moved so much. It upset me when I found out. -- She didn't really deserve that."  
  
"And you did?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, no -- that's not what I meant. -- No one deserves that. It was just sad. She was so happy most of the time. I -- ah, uh --" He paused, blushing.  
  
"What?" I asked curiously.  
  
"I, ah, got my ... first kiss from her." If he had blushed any worse he would have gotten a heat rash ... however, he felt compelled to explain, "It was in the 7th grade. My bike had gotten stolen again. It was a short bike ride home, but a rather long walk and, er... it was raining. I didn't have an umbrella or anything, but Angelena offered to walk me home." He smiled, as the blush faded from his face, "I don't remember a word we said to each other, but it was one of the best conversations I'd had with anybody up until that point and would remain so for a long time after that. She was one of the few people on my level, it was a miracle to have someone to relate to." He sighed happily, "When we got up to my door I invited her in. She declined -- said she had to get home -- thanked _me_ for walking with her, and gave me a quick kiss, right on the lips." He blushed inwardly this time, "I was too shocked to do or say anything intelligent for the next hour, so she got away without me asking her what had prompted it. -- The funniest thing was we never talked about it again the whole rest of the 7th grade. We went on just the way we had until school was out.  
  
"But -- At the end summer Angelena was moving again and I was resuming schooling with STAR, my dad felt I was old enough to be home alone, now that I was a teenager.. We promised each other we'd write, but we never really did. Personally, I wrote about 100 letters and was never happy enough with them to send them.   
  
"I was starting over once again ... Of many, many times..." He added sadly, after a pause. He stopped to look back to the fire. "It's going out." He stated, getting up to put more wood on it.  
  
The parrot cooed softly from its perch. It was asleep. Good. I rolled my eyes at it, as I stood up. I'd leave him alone for a little bit.  
  
  


**Chapter Three  
  
**

When I reentered the dim room about fifteen minutes later Otacon was back in the rocking chair. He appeared more relaxed this time. Probably because that damn parrot was still asleep. I sighed. -- I didn't really have anything against the parrot, except that Otacon insisted on keeping it even though it was beginning to drive him crazy.  
  
"Thanks for giving me a breather." He sighed, as I sat back down.  
"No problem. I don't want you to get too overwhelmed."  
  
"Thanks." He continued gazing at the fire for about another minute, then looked over to me questioningly, "Where was I?"  
  
"Home Schooling." I answered shortly.  
  
"Oh yeah. I'd just told you about Elementary and Junior High. It's a little silly thinking back on it now. -- It was so long ago. -- But after that." He paused, "That was when my dad decided to start dating again... He was --" He paused doing the math in his head, "37, I think ... -- At first I was upset, he hardly had enough time for me as it was. Though I couldn't really blame him ..." His expression became dark, "He was lonely. He needed someone in his life. -- I could understand that. Unfortunately for him, his search didn't go very well. His only day off was Sunday and he worked from 6:00 am to 5:30 PM most days -- If he wasn't working over time. He had an intense job ... I can understand his dedication. -- If you've ever flown in a plane your life was in his capable, but extremely stressed, hands. Eh, ah, -- he went prematurely gray..." Otacon added, running his fingers through his own hair, nervously.  
  
I chuckled.  
  
"I guess it runs in the family..." He said, glancing away and blushing slightly.  
  
Poor guy, I embarrassed him. "Sorry."  
  
"It's okay." He laughed, "Err -- Where was I?"  
  
"Your father dating." I prompted. He's one of the brightest minds in the world, but he has such trouble keeping a train of thought sometimes.  
  
"Ohh..." He sighed, letting his body collapse in defeat.  
  
"If you don't want to --"  
  
"No." He stopped me, "Err ... for the most part my father would go to clubs and things on Sunday evenings -- things like that. He had a date once or twice, but he never really found anyone who could deal with his schedule.  
  
"Uhm, and ... er, Oh! It was nice to be back home schooling... I mean, I could work at my own pace and all... But the setting was very unsocial. I didn't really have anyone to talk to..."  
  
I sighed inspite of myself.  
  
"It's okay, Snake." He assured me, "It kept me focused on my school work, at least. Uhh... But I didn't have any friends.  
  
"I'm sorry, though. I must sound like I'm -- bitter." He spat out the word as though it were the sole cause of the world's suffering, "My days may have been a little miserable at times, but I did manage. I tried to not let it bother me. My only friend was my Japanese Anime ... but I guess I got strength from that, in a way. It helped me cope ... --" He stopped suddenly, "Snake! --I'm not telling you this story to complained -- Trust me, I'm not." He sounded a little panicked.  
  
"I know." I answered. "Unhappy" and "Otacon" did not go well together. When he realized he was unhappy it made him even worse. A sad vicious cycle. I felt sorry for him.  
  
There was a long pause. Otacon massaged his temples for a few moments, deep in thought. "..."  
  
"...?" I glanced over at him.  
  
"But I guess, when it comes down to it, I -- ah, I ... was ... lonely." He struggled through the sentence, trying to figure out what to say now, "I was virtually friendless for some time... I was finishing up my STAR schooling. I was 16 when I graduated STAR's 7th through 12th grade. I planned to move on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's On-line Schooling, to get a Masters Degree. But, it was the summer before I started, that I my dad found a steady girlfriend."  
  
I perked up.  
  
"That was when I met Emma."  
  
  


**Chapter Four  
  
**

"My father had gotten a secretary. A tall blond woman. She was 24 when she got the job and she had a 4 year old daughter -- she had lived with her mother in England until she decided to leave Emma's father and come to America. Er... She had been a young mother. She had Emma when she was only 20 years old -- though a unique twist on her story was that _she_ left Emma's father. _He _never left _her_." He frowned.  
  
"Hm." I nodded.  
  
"At any rate ... My farther and Julie started going out almost immediately."  
  
"Julie?"  
  
"Th-that was her name, remember..." Otacon said nervously, "Uhm ... err -- They would go to their work's 'Holiday Party', maybe go to a movie with friends, or go out to dinner alone."  
  
"--How old was your father?"  
  
"He was ... mm -- I think, 40 at the time."  
  
"A little young for him." I commented dryly.  
  
"Hm." Otacon snorted, sitting back in his chair, the fire flashed reflecting on his glasses, obscuring his eyes. "My father didn't care. -- You know, sometimes I think the Emmerichs would never fall in love if we had never heard it talked about..."  
  
"..." There was a moment of awkward silence.  
  
Finally, Otacon sighed sadly then continued, "My father was taken with this woman as soon as he met her. She was young and beautiful and really seemed to like him. And he was lonely.  
  
"... Always lonely..." He added, I couldn't tell if he was talking about his father or himself, "But, then, ah, I met Emma. -- My dad and Julie had me 'Kid-sit' Emma when they would go out. She was only 4 years old, but we became best friends almost immediately.  
  
"True, I only watched her when my dad and Julie went on a date, which was maybe an average of two or three times a month ... but... I looked forward to it with every inch of my being. So, ah, my dad went out with her casually for about a year. I didn't know Julie very well -- er, ah ... and so, neither Emma nor I were prepared when they announced they would be getting married." He looked over at me, almost melancholy, if it hadn't have been for the small smile that crept across his features. "I was pretty excited, actually. I would finally have a real family. One with a father and a mother and a little sister." His tone changed slowly, "It was ... supposed to be ... perfect...."  
  
I let out a heavy sigh. In my experiences as soon as someone expects perfection ... things are not only less than so, they get infinitely worse. This would end adding another story to my library, of course.  
  
"And... I almost believed it was -- for a while. Emma and I, we were kindred spirits. We did everything we possibly could together." I could sense a tension in his voice, he was getting choked up already, "We, ah -- we would play house together, a lot. That was her idea. I was the husband and she was the wife. -- I did it for her. To see her smile. But..." He paused thoughtfully, "I enjoyed it too. I mean, a part of me really enjoyed the game on the same level that Emma did. It was a departure from the way life had been up until that point. Neither of us had ever had a real family like that. _My_ father hardly had any time for me, and _her _mother -- Well, let me just say Emma was raised primarily by her Grandmother up until her Mom left England.  
  
"Er -- We played house a lot during that year that I would baby-sit her. But. After the wedding Emma and I didn't really play house the way we had when I had baby-sat her. I mean, we still did, but-- I think I was a covert operative at one point. The game got a little silly after a while. " He chuckled slightly.  
  
"Why's that?" I asked.  
  
"Well. The game was a fantasy. As long as we had the reality we were content to do other things. We swam a lot." He paused, contemplating whether or not to go on, "Emma ... loved the water. When I would baby-sit her she would always ask if she could go swimming. Even if it was freezing out." He smiled sadly.  
  
"Uhm... Oh, she got interested in my Anime immediately. She thought I was the 'coolest person on the planet' because I was 17 and still watched cartoons. I never really comprehended how much she looked up to me, though..." He let out a heavy sigh, "She would always ask me what I was going to do when I grew up or what my hobbies were. I remember, at one point I was thinking about being an _astronomer_... -- She got it mixed up with _Astrologer_. That was a hobby she picked up on accident." He chuckled, then looked up at the parrot sleeping peacefully on its perch, becoming solemn again, "She got me interested in it too, for a little while ... though I can't really remember anything about it. -- But, she was a fan...  
  
"But, ah ... for the first time in a long time things were beginning to look good. The sun had finally come out from behind the cloud. I was acing every subject in my MIT courses -- well, except English, but, what can I say? We all have weak subjects, right? Besides, it wasn't a big deal, it wasn't the Massachusetts Institute of English, after all..."  
  
I snorted. No kidding. He couldn't explicate a proverb to save his life. I didn't want to think about what his book reports must have looked like.  
  
"My hard work in STAR had paid off. Emma and I saw each other everyday, we got to spend the whole day together. And that summer my dad even took little vacations so he could be with us -- He and Emma ... they went swimming a lot. I wasn't a big swimmer, but Emma usually got me in the pool one way or another. We had a lot of fun, in the end." He chuckled in spite of himself.  
  
"And what about your parents?" I asked.  
  
"Oh. Yeah." He said distastefully, before continuing, "They weren't around a lot. I was responsible for Emma until they got home. For my dad it was late. For Julie it was whenever she wanted."  
  
"Didn't she work with your father?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. After they got married she quit her job. My father could support her now... There was really no need for her to have a real job. Though I believe she had a part time job as a telemarketer or something like that. More to keep her busy than to pay the bills."  
  
"Ah." I nodded.  
  
"I guess, I didn't know a lot about my dad's relationship with Julie. I hardly ever saw them together. My father loved Julie, I know. But his work came first. Always. But, sometimes, when I'd see him come home after work and see Julie there, it was ... heart warming, really." He sighed, "I just never understood how he could love her so much and not be there for her..."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"But..." He looked up at me with a pained expression, "I wish you understood how things were. I mean, things weren't perfect, but I don't want you to think I'm complaining. My family, ah -- Emma and I -- My dad and Julie ... err..."  
  
I sighed. I got the feeling that things were probably worse than he wanted to tell me, he just didn't want to sound bitter or cruel. "It's all right, Otacon." I assured him, "I'm sure ... an explanation will come to you."  
  
He nodded slowly, letting out a slight whimper, as he clasp his hands over his face.  
  
"Otacon?"  
  
"I'm fine ... I -- ah, give me a minute."  
  
I obliged, letting him gather his thoughts for a few minutes.  
  
  
  


....**to be continued.....**  


  
  
Notes: This final is very, very different from my original "Parrots," as the original was from Otacon's POV entirely. Half way through I changed it. It was easier for me to have Otacon talking to someone than to just have him start telling about his past. I'm a lot happier with this tome. Weeee!  
Not that the original version of _Parrots _doesn't have a place in my heart... I was just a little too confused at the time that I wrote it. I needed a fresh start. So, while I hope that all of you that read the original _Parrots_ enjoyed it... I also hope that you find this one just as well and hopefully better. ^-^;;  
It should also be noted, that for my purposes I created MIT on-line. Otacon did get his Ph.D. from MIT, but I decided to make it like STAR... I mean, they'd let you do a lot of things ... if you had enough money, right? Heehee, err... And besides, if you went to _Princeton_ afterwards like he did, then it wouldn't matter much, where he got his education in the long run, would it?  
  
  
  
**12-15-01 : **_Well, that was decidedly unpleasant. I had to go through and fix all the ages. Stupid me changed the ages for her own stupid ends when she wrote the original Parrots... And when she sat down to rewrite it she forgot about the ages that were given in the game. Well, Blah. Don't I feel foolish. Siiigh.  
Just 2 more Parts to go.... Ahh...  
  
  
  
_


	2. Part II

**"PARROTS"  
  
Chapter Five  
**  


After a moment Otacon looked up at me. "I suppose I'd have to get to this part sooner or later..." He sighed, "So, my dad had been married to Julie about a year, it was the end of July ... and I had just finished my second year of MIT On-line. Emma had just turned 6. -- er... My dad told us that he couldn't get time off for the summer like he had the year before. --Julie was restless because she never saw him... -- It was, uh, a short time after the summer ended, that ... the fighting ... started." He said, looking away.  
  
"Fighting, huhn? That can't be good."  
  
"You really have a way with words, Snake. -- Uhh... -- Julie and my father, uhm..." He paused to start over, " --My dad would come home, and Julie would attack him for never being there during they day. He would attack her for quitting her job as his secretary. And it would just go back and forth. Nobody slept. Er -- Emma would sit in my room on those nights. Sometimes I'd read to her, or we'd try and play house or something ... usually that fell through. Most often we'd just sit there quietly... Just having each others presents --" He cut himself off, the continued from where he had gone astray, "-- It scared her when they fought. Hell, Snake, it scared me. For a whole year things were looking good, then it all went down hill again. I mean, there I am, 18 years old, and agonizing over my parents fighting. Uh, Emma was so afraid they would split up. I was a little more optimistic about it. I knew how my father was. He would try and work things out." Otacon sighed sadly.  
  
"After about a month of constant fighting things finally died down."  
  
"Hm?" I perked up.  
  
"Yeah. No fighting. No talking. No sleeping in the same room. No eating at the table together. Nothing."  
  
"Oh..." I said, drooping.  
  
"Even though they seldom saw each other anyway... This bothered me a whole lot. My father was very upset. He would come home very late. Very tired. Julie -- well, I couldn't tell what she was thinking. She, ah, she was just quiet. She wouldn't talk to us at all. At least my father attempted to explain things to Emma and I... --Julie just..." He shook his head, "Plotted."  
  
There was a long pause. "So, ah ... hm... Things were still tense at home. Emma and I resumed playing house full swing." He let out an almost bitter sounding chuckle, he then continued solemnly, "My father was not looking well. His work was suffering. I remember that he had made a huge mistake on one of his air planes and it would have been terrible if it hadn't have been caught. I mean, it is very unlikely that a mistake like that would have made it through production ... but ... just the fact that he had made the mistake at all affected him a lot.  
  
"It was ... uh, shortly after the fighting had stopped that, uhm ..." He fixed his glasses nervously. "--I was so naive! Damn..." He squeaked, clasping his hands over his face once more.  
  
I waited patiently for him to calm down.  
  
"Ahh... I'm sorry, Snake... I don't know how to tell you this..."  
  
"I think I get the idea--"  
  
"No, no... I have to tell you what happened. You need to understand... I - I was so lonely... All I had was Emma... And -- I ... wanted someone else in my life. It's my curse." He sighed forlornly. "Being so anxious for someone that you take whatever comes your way--"  
  
"That's not true." I interrupted him before he could go any further.  
  
"Hm...?"  
  
"You know it's not. Tell me the story from _your _point of view and not what you _think _mine is."  
  
He was kind of taken aback by this, "Well ... Uhm ... I don't know exactly what you mean...."  
  
"I mean, you're being too hard on yourself. There must have been a rhyme to your reason. You just don't think I'll believe it when you tell me."  
  
"Oh..." He nodded, swallowing anxiously. "Well..." He continued slowly, "What I said about being lonesome was true. But ... I had no intention of being that careless with my emotions."  
  
"Who ever does?" I asked, "Sometimes 'carelessness' can't be helped."  
  
"I suppose I should get this over with. --Uh ... Emma was visiting her grandmother on that night. It was Julie's idea -- but I didn't even make the connection until much, much later -- My dad was working late, as could be expected. Julie and I were alone. She called me into her room to talk to her. I asked her what was going on with my dad ... she brushed past the issue. She said she wanted to get to know_ me_ better. We didn't really talk _about _anything. But whatever Julie was saying she had it rehearsed. She knew exactly what to say to me to push my buttons. When I think back on it it makes me feel very ... exposed... -- She knew me well enough to know how to get me under her thumb, but _I _hardly knew _anything_ about _her_. --But at the time... I felt like I did. She went on about how she felt about relationships and things. Stuff that felt like a subplot from an anime." He looked away self consciously. "I was drawn in like a moth to a flame. She asked me to go to dinner with her that night. At first I was nervous about it, but she promised me it would be fun, so I agreed.  
  
"The dinner was nice. We just talked some more. I told her about school and we talked about Emma for a while, but she didn't seem too keen on the subject. She was just humoring me, though I didn't realize any of it at the time. -- I was too overwhelmed. It was so strange to have her showing interest in me. And when I asked her about it she'd told me that she'd been thinking about me a lot after she and my dad had stopped talking." He shook his head.  
  
"We went home after dinner. My dad still wasn't back. And ... she told me not to tell my dad about dinner. When I asked her why ... she kissed me and told me 'That's why.' And of course I was far too shocked to say anything to anyone ... let alone my dad.  
  
"The next day, though... I confronted her about it. She told me -- She told me that... _I _was everything that she _loved _about my father, that we didn't need to do anymore talking because she already knew how she felt about me... I didn't know what to think at first. A woman -- a real woman -- was actually in love with _me_, this barely legal 18 year old... The woman was my best friend's mother and my father's wife -- But..." He looked away, ashamed, his voice was beginning to falter, "I so wanted to believe that something like that could happen to me. That _I_ would be chosen. That_ I _would be loved. All my life I'd been waiting of someone who would love me, and here she was, in the flesh. Talking to me, whispering in my ear, holding me, touching me--" He cut off abruptly with a sob, realizing he had lost himself in his thoughts. Slowly he began to speak again, turning over every word.  
  
"She was ... the only woman I've ever ... _been with_, Snake. It hurts me to think that now. I wish I never had -- regardless of its repercussions ... just on principle. It's against everything I believe. -- But, you're right, Snake ... in saying that I am being -- maybe -- a little too hard on myself. I was sure that I loved her, and she had convinced me that she loved me too. I didn't want to lose that -- that feeling." His eyes wandered from me, to the fire, to the parrot, then back to me. "I suppose you don't exactly know the feeling..."  
  
"...**!**" _What? Love? _ I was about to respond -- a little harshly, too -- but he continued, nearly reading my mind.  
  
"...N-not _love_, Snake. That's not what I mean... -- I mean..." He sighed, "It's hard to explain ... it was more an ... _infatuation_. Kind of like...--"  
  
"With Sniper Wolf?" I asked, suddenly.  
  
He frowned over at me coldly, "That's not what I was going to say, Snake. Wolf was different..." He sighed, but continued on before I could ask him what exactly it was. "I was trying to say ... being_ in love with love_ ... not really the person."  
  
"Ah..." I nodded.  
  
"This 'relationship,' though... It went on and on ... My father got worse and worse. He was a completely different man at this point. He hardly ever shaved, he developed these sickly looking dark circles ... he was just ... not healthy. I would constantly be paranoid that he knew. That he had figured it out. Julie would assure me he had no idea -- he was never home... But -- he _did_ know, Snake. I knew that, and she knew that. I just didn't let myself believe it. -- Besides... Emma was the one I was really worried about. If she'd ever found out... I - I don't know what I would have done.  
  
"Emma -- she would try and talk to me, and I'd just be this -- ... this shell ... this blank body... --All I had going for me was Julie ... she kept me from going over the edge with guilt, which is really just a vicious cycle because she was the cause of it! But, Emma noticed. She knew there was something wrong. She knew because I wouldn't look at her. She was smart like that. She was only 6 years old ... but she was so smart." He paused with a sob, "She'd -- She'd take my glasses off so that she could see my eyes, as if she thought they would tell her everything -- And she would ... listen to my heart beat sometimes, like she had when we had first met. It was deceptive. I felt so heartless --" He suddenly stopped, letting out several sobs as he turned away from me, holding his face in his hands. I knew this was coming. His voice had been raising with intensity the whole time, and he was just too overwhelmed.  
  
Silently I stood up, walked past him, then stopped to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at me, sniffled, then looked away hiding his eyes. I gave him a pat on the shoulder and left the room...  
  
"Hal... I miss you." The parrot squawked, awakened by Otacon's crying.  
  
This induced a fresh stream of pained sobs from Otacon. I seriously wanted to shoot that parrot.  
  
  


**Chapter Six  
  
**

I reentered the room a little over an hour later. It was about 3:30 now. Otacon appeared to be half asleep in the rocking chair, and the parrot had migrated over to the mantle, it was also half asleep.  
  
I quietly sat back down in my chair. Otacon blinked and looked over at me. He wasn't wearing his glasses, they were hanging from his shirt collar.  
  
"Sorry about that, Snake..." He said in a rather blank tone. He had been crying, and it had tired him out, but at least now he was relaxed enough to continue -- even if it was more from sheer fatigue than actually feeling better.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Are you all right?"  
  
"I, ah, I'll live..." he sighed, "I think I can go on with the story anyway..."  
  
I nodded. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Y-yeah... The sooner I tell you everything the sooner I can get back to normal." He sniffed sadly, "This is no way to be... I can't stand it... Being depressed. It's not me, Snake. It would kill me--**!**" He was on the verge of hysteria again, but then managed to catch his breath.   
  
There was a pause as Otacon got his thoughts straight. "I, ah ... left off at Emma and I ... Hmm ... She knew something was definitely wrong with me -- though she never really knew _what_. I tried to keep her company, to be her best friend, like I had been ... but ... I couldn't look at her without feeling guilty. --My father was suffering because of my actions, and I felt so guilty about it I was having trouble functioning, and Emma noticed..."  
  
"Why didn't you stop seeing her -- Julie, I mean?"  
  
Otacon whimpered, "Ah, I tried several times. But I couldn't over power her. She would talk me out of it sometimes. Tell me how happy I made her. She would _tell me_ how happy I was. Sometimes, when talking didn't work she'd move on to touching." He glanced away, ashamed. "Sometimes I even managed to prevent that ... but her last resort always worked."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"She threatened me. She threatened to tell my father -- to tell Emma all about our relationship. She'd tell me that she didn't want to have to resort to that, but I'd thank her for it in the future..." He shook his head sadly, "I was such a _damn fool_... --" He paused, clearing his throat self consciously, "Sorry. I'll... control myself..." He blinked. "Ahm... I just wish I'd seen what she was before --" He paused, looking up at me with determination, "... Snake, I have to be completely honest with you about my family... I tried not to make it sound too bad... But -- I guess that's just because I always tried to make the best of it. Frankly... My father was never home, we only really saw him on Sundays -- and occasionally during the summer, like I said -- but ... he was never there for us. For me, Emma, or Julie... His job was his first priority. Always. But -- I'm not lying when I say he _did_ love us... He just ... had his own agenda. He wanted us around when _he_ needed us... It didn't really matter when _we_ needed him."  
  
"Then, why did Julie stay with him?" I asked.  
  
"That's the other half of the truth I didn't go into very much before." Otacon sighed, "Julie was a _child_, Snake. She was this little child that only cared about what _she_ wanted. I guess in that respect she and my father were the same. They were both too self absorbed to notice what their actions did to other people. But, what separated my father and Julie was the fact that my father became obsessive and Julie became bored."  
  
"...Bored?"  
  
"She got bored with Emma's father so she left him. She got bored with her job so she quit. She got bored with Emma so she dumped her on her mother. She got bored with my father, so she stopped talking to him. -- She married my father because she was tired of living with her mother. -- My father had a lot of money. He could support her. She could dump Emma off on me. I already loved her, after all. My father was hardly ever home. Julie could do whatever she wanted, and no one would have any idea. She just hadn't counted on one thing."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Falling in love..." He sighed.  
  
"With yo--?"  
  
"--With my father! --... She loved my father. There was no doubt about that. That's why she didn't just pack up and leave -- leave Emma, and me, and my dad -- She couldn't leave him. She loved him. She just -- she wanted to hurt him, and I was the best tool she could have ever used to do it. Besides. It certainly must have thrilled her. To be doing something so dangerous. She was a pioneer in that respect. She had to live her life on the edge some way or another. It was just ... her nature. Her method and reasons for revenge on my father remind me of what Emma said back at the Big Shell. She _said_ she wanted to hurt me... But -- She really just didn't know what else to do." He sighed, "But, I digress..." There was a pregnant pause.  
  
"Now, you might have a better idea of why Emma was my only family. I just ... always tried to look on the bright side. Only paying attention to the love my father and Julie had -- and try not to pay attention to their failings. Failings that -- in anyone else's eyes -- greatly out weighed the love... But to me, love has more power than any failings." He paused, biting his lip.  
  
"Julie and I had been seeing each other for about five months. It doesn't sound like that long -- But... February 'til July ... it seemed a lot longer than happier times would have... And every moment with Julie was an eternity. Good or bad..." He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut.  
  
"I remember ... the month before it all came to a head -- June ... that was Emma's birthday..."  
  
"What's up!" The parrot chirped.  
  
I glanced tensely over at the parrot.  
  
"I'm all right..." Otacon assured me, having seen my reaction. He paused, then continued, "Emma was so thrilled because she was turning 7. She would go on about it. It was happier time for me, among those bad months.  
  
"My father had begun to open up to us a little more ... well ... not _us_. But he would talk to Emma. I guess she was the only one he trusted at that point." Otacon said, sadly, "Anyway. He had taken Emma out that Sunday. I didn't feel comfortable going with him ... so... Julie and I stayed home..." He looked over to the fire, ashamed. "But, her real birthday was that week, and I planned to spent the whole day with her. We were out all day ... and it was really ... very nice. It was one of my last memories of her happy...--" He said, getting choked up again, he bit his lip and took a deep breath to calm himself. "_Just ... get through this, Hal..._" He muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He let out a slight gasp, and opened his eyes, "Ah...! Hmm..." He took his glasses off of his collar and slid them on. "Thank you for bearing with me..."  
  
"..." I nodded, smiling slightly with a gesture to continue.  
  
He smiled back weakly, as he tucked his knees back under his chin. "Er... but..." He paused, trying to remember where he had left off, "After Emma's birthday ... only about 3 weeks later, in the middle of July..." Otacon paused, "It was -- er... My father had actually appeared to be getting better. I thought he might actually start talking to Julie again. But, in all actuality, he had just accepted the betrayal of his wife, and was to the point of deciding what was best to be done. As I said before ... my father was not a strong man..." He looked back to the fire sadly, lost momentarily in his own thoughts.  
  
"Then one day everything came crashing down on us. On me, on Julie. The people that deserved it. And Emma, the one person that didn't." He sighed.  
  
It was at that moment that I realized why my friend was acting so out of character. His _guilt_ was driving him crazy. He was pent up more with guilt, than sorrow for his lost sister. That was why he acted so differently when Sniper Wolf had died. It hadn't been his fault. He had, in fact, tried to prevent it. It would be easier for him to live with his sister's death if it wasn't on his conscience. This is a person who gives me a tranquilizer gun on missions so I don't hurt anyone. If he ever _really_ killed anyone he would probably die from guilt. This man is the quintessential Philanthropist. His sister's death, his father's death: they were weighing him down like a bag of rocks.  
  
Not to imply that he wasn't mourning, but he'd done most of it back at the Big Shell. Tears only last for so long. If it's one thing that Otacon is good at, it's finding the best of any situation, and if there's no good in it, then move on. Unfortunately, guilt was not something Otacon handled well. I imagine he picked up the trait from his father. His father couldn't handle the guilt that went along with turning his wife away from him ... although a failing of Otacon's father also appeared to be jealousy, something Otacon has never had to deal with. Another example of how not everything is hereditary. Genes don't determine your future or your personality, in fact, it seems that good old fashioned human contact has more of a say in our personality than anything else.  
  
"Snake...?" Otacon questioned. My whole thought process hadn't taken more than a few seconds, but the pause was peculiar enough to get Otacon's attention, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, nothing. I'll tell you later. Go on." I answered.  
  
"Uhm... Well. That day... Julie and I had thought that my father was at work. He usually left early in the morning, and Julie had moved into the guest bedroom ... and she never went in the master bedroom. We'd just assumed he'd left. Emma had gone over to the neighbor's house that morning --" Otacon stopped to explain, "We had a neighbor down the block with a little girl, they'd moved in at the beginning of the summer that year. The girl that lived there was about 16, but she was the only other kid in the neighborhood. Julie had encouraged her to go make friends.  
  
"At any rate, we were supposed to have the house to ourselves, again." Otacon shuddered inspite of himself, "But ... my father had stayed home that day. He had been in the back yard and we never even knew... -- Ah..." Otacon struggled, "This is where I just need to swallow my fear and tell you...  
  
"Julie and I were in my room that morning. Emma had come back because the girl wasn't home, we didn't hear her come in ... but she'd heard my father in the pool. She must have thought he was swimming because she'd put on her swim suit. ... But ... when she got out to the pool and saw my dad there -- drowning. She'd dived in to help him ... all the while screaming for _me_... But... I didn't hear her..." He stopped, looking away from me, there was a long pause before he continued, "Thankfully, the neighbors heard it ... and they called the police. We didn't know what had happened until the paramedics showed up. -- Julie had told them we had been asleep. It was still reasonably early, after all... But, when she found out my father hadn't made it ... she just ... collapsed.  
  
"Some of the Paramedics stayed with her while I went to the hospital with Emma in the ambulance. Everyone was sure she would die, and I was about to downed in my own tears..."  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"I stayed at the Hospital from then to early the next morning. A nurse at Emma's room told me that she would survive. I was also relieved that she lived. But ... I ... just ... -- I couldn't look at her, Snake. I knew I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye -- And _Julie_... I never wanted to see _her _again.--  
  
"I _did_ see her again. But I wouldn't talk to her. She would tell me that we could be together now that my father was gone, that something good _could_ come out of the tragedy. I refused to listen. There was no more threat. She had lost her power..." He looked away, "I tried to stay around after the accident. But... I couldn't get myself to even _look_ at Emma... I had no right to look at her. I'd betrayed her, and I'd ruined her life, the only logical step for me was to punish myself ... for her. She'd loved my father, and it crushed her completely when he died. I had lost the right of friendship that day... -- I tried to stay. I stayed home until the end of August. The last I saw of Emma was at my father's funeral. I saw her, but she didn't see me. I watched from the back and didn't say anything. The people that did see me there let it go. I was obviously too upset to say anything anyway..." He sighed, trailing off. "Everything was my fault... So... I packed up and left after the funeral. I had enrolled in Princeton to get my Master's degree, and I was going to be staying in the dorms, instead of continuing to live at home.  
  
"Julie tried to call me a few times, but I never talked to her. Once Emma called though ... and I_ did_ talk to her. She asked me to come home and I told her I couldn't, she asked me why ... and it went back and forth like that for a while, over the phone ... finally I just told her I loved her and hung up..." He whimpered softly, "Once Julie realized I wasn't coming back she sold the house. -- I would too. -- It was haunted by the past..." He sighed, "They moved back to England, then. They certainly had enough money for a while ... what with all the money my father left them. He'd left me enough money to get through college. The rest went to Julie. And it was a lot of money.... -- Huh... Should have been for all the hours my father spent at work." Otacon sighed solemnly, "But ... as far as I know, once the money _did _run out Julie had no real way to support herself and Emma... I found out later, that after about 4 years living on their own Julie finally moved back in with her Mother ... after about a year of that Julie jumped up and left Emma with her Grandma."  
  
"Hm?" I cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Julie wrote to me a few times while I was at Princeton. That was how I found out about her severe case of Hydrophobia. I felt terrible because I'd taken away another thing that she loved .... Er... but, apparently, Julie would come back from time to time, or write a letter to Emma ... but generally, from that point on, Emma lived with only her grandmother until she went off to college. She went to Princeton too ... and went into the same field as me..." Otacon sighed, looking up, "But ... you know the rest..."  
  
  


**Chapter Seven  
**

"So your life ends there, huh?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Well... No." Otacon said hastily, fixing his glasses, "Actually ... maybe I should tell you about my life after I left home... Ah, it's a hell of a lot less depressing." He smiled slightly.  
  
"All right." I nodded.  
  
"Err... I was starting my freshman year in college now that the summer was over... I had finished my MIT courses in 3 years, and Princeton was more than happy to have me. -- Er, I stayed in the dorms at school. My dad left me enough money to be able to pay for it all. I didn't need to get a part time job or anything, though I did have alot of side projects... You would be very surprised to find out how many of the worlds greatest technological advances were made at Universities -- Or maybe _you_ wouldn't." He chuckled slightly, "The first few months I was away from home I was pretty out of it..." He paused, self consciously, "But, I had made some friends at Princeton and they helped me through it, even though they didn't know the whole story. Not in the least. -- Er... It was that year that Axe and I found each other again..."  
  
"Axe?" I questioned, puzzled.  
  
"Oh! I didn't tell you. Angelena's nick name was 'Axe'**!**"  
  
"'Axe Nightingale'??" I laughed, "Sounds like a Fox-Hound code name!"  
  
Otacon chuckled too, "I never really thought of that! It does, doesn't it? -- Err ... she got the name from her participation at Renaissance Faires. She was exceptionally good with the throwing ax." He paused before going on, "When we found each other we became friends again immediately.  
  
"I told her about my past ... well, I told her as much as I'd told anybody. But I didn't tell her about Emma's mother and me... In fact, Snake, you're the first person I've ever told this story to."  
  
"..."  
  
Otacon cleared his throat self consciously, "She was sympathetic and helped me a great deal. -- College was the start of a new era for me. It was really a fun time, all things considered. I suppose, my life then was as close to stereotypical college life as people like me and my friends could get." He chuckled, "We'd have 'anime parties' and go out to the movies and things, I even introduced them to OtaKon. They were responsible for giving me my nickname."  
  
"Born to be wild, eh, Otacon?" I joked wryly.  
  
Otacon chuckled, "Well, on my 21st birthday a friend of mine insisted we go to a drinking party."  
  
I darn near choked in surprise, smirking slightly.  
  
"I never did it again." Otacon said tersely.  
  
"What? You're not going to tell me what happened?"  
  
He laughed, "I would if I remembered any of it. Axe was supposed to tell me, but she didn't remember it either. Which is probably a good thing, because I have a vague recollection of telling her about my relationship with Emma's mother."  
  
"Oh... I see." He was one of _those_. I chuckled.  
  
"At any rate, school went incredibly well." He grinned at me, "I earned my reputation there for coming up with a program for that nasty Y2K digit changing problem... Unfortunately I didn't get any money for it, but I was hailed as 'the savior of the computer world.' Err..." He paused thoughtfully, "My future looked incredibly bright."  
  
"Always the optimist." I smiled.  
  
"Of course!" Otacon blinked. "And things were bright. I finished my senior year and moved into an apartment... I stayed for my Ph.D. after my other friends left, but Axe stayed around with me there to get her's. She was studying Zoology and Astrology. She was incredibly interested in animals... She was, to me, the ideal 'Good Person'."  
  
I cocked an eyebrow. _Oh_. It made a little more since now why he had been so infatuated with Sniper Wolf. This love of animals that he saw in Axe was the same affection he saw in Sniper Wolf. It made me wonder for a moment what he thought of me in comparison to this 'Axe Nightingale.' I let it go, though, gesturing for him to continue.  
  
"She was the ideal after which I based a lot of my character judgments in the future. She and Emma were similar in that respect. They were both incredibly good-natured and sweet ... but Emma was always my little sister, I could never look at her the way I looked at other girls."  
  
"...Oh?" I asked, with a slight smirk that didn't escape his notice.  
  
"Oh, there was nothing between Axe and me ... if that's what you're thinking." _It was.  
_  
"I was so burned out by Julie, that I didn't want to invest myself in another relationship for a long time. It was nothing against women in general. I certainly wasn't bitter... I was just ... tired. --" He paused with a heavy sigh, "-- She did like me though. She just never said anything. I think she knew I was hurt... I don't think she knew why, but she did leave me alone in that regard, I mean, she never asked me out or anything. -- She had an almost psychic ability when it came to understanding people's problems."  
  
"Hm..." I sighed, glancing over at the dwindling fire.  
  
"Top of the locker." The parrot cooed, drifting back to sleep.  
  
"Ah, hmm... After College, Axe and I went our separate ways. We E-mailed each other a few times, we even went to OtaKon together once, the summer after graduation, kind of like back in Jr. High.... But we slowly lost contact with each other ... no more than a birthday card once a year now. Well, actually _now _I don't really even have time for _that_..." He sighed, arching his eyebrows.  
  
"Anyway, I got a great job almost immediately out of college." He smiled, "People with skills like mine were in high demand."  
  
"I'll bet." I said, nodding. This man truly was a genius, he had every right to gloat.  
  
"I had several projects with various companies over the years after I graduated Princeton."  
  
"And you already had an extensive resume." I commented.  
  
He blushed slightly, "Well, yeah... When I was 30 I signed on as Chief Engineer for ArmsTECH's Metal Gear Project. It attracted me because of it's uncanny similarity to the Mech. Warriors of my Animes. I worked on it in Alaska for 2 years... And that's when ... I met you."  
  
I nodded. "And now I really _do _know the rest..." I smiled slightly.  
  
"Yeah..." Otacon said, leaning back in the chair, thoughtfully.  
  
The sun would be coming up in another hour.  
  
  


**to be continued....**  


  
  
NOTES:  
Oh, friggin' A.... Looks like I botched up another one. Much to my deep regret I found out some very useful information about Otacon's past ... about 6 chapters after the fact!! I had to go through and change a lot of stuff... *siiigh* Oh well...  
  
  
**12-15-01 :** _Ahhh... almost done. I feel a lot better now that it's fixed up. Weeee.... I was going to say something important and/or profound ... but I forgot what it was.... So, uhm... Carry on. Maybe something about reading this out loud to myself ... or some snide comment about Snake... I really don't remember.  
  
DUDE, I TOTALLY JUST REMEMBERED WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY!!  
Alright. #1, I had Emma turn 7 _before _the accident, I know... But I figured that her birthday had been so close to the accident, Otacon would say that she was 6 at the time without batting an eye.  
Aaaand. #2 .... I think it's really ironic that the Internet created by DARPA is responsible for Otacon's education and his fame ... and yet, the DARPA related incident at Shadow Moses led to the loss of his job... Not to mention the program he created to save the Internet at Y2K was used as a Patriot tool. Cool, huh?_


	3. Part III

**"PARROTS"  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
**

There was a long silence after that. I got up momentarily to put more wood on the fire. Otacon just sat there, thinking.  
  
The parrot slept peacefully on the mantel.  
  
"Snake...?" Otacon started after a moment.  
  
"Yeah, Otacon?" I asked, sitting back down.  
  
"Do you think ... --" He stopped abruptly, "No -- Uhm... What do you think-- Er..." Long pause. "Will I ... -- Will I ever see Emma again?" He peered over at me questioningly through his glasses.  
  
I was caught off guard. _What was he asking me?_ "Otacon?" I cocked an eyebrow, "Do you mean ... what do I ... believe?"  
  
"I... I guess so..." He said, looking away.  
  
"Well. Before Shadow Moses I probably would have said _no_, you won't see her again. I probably would have told you that dead is dead and that's all there is to it."  
  
"But ... now?" Otacon ventured meekly.  
  
"But now." I paused, "--I can't say that I believe in divine justice. There probably isn't any 'all powerful' punishing the wicked and rewarding the good, in this life or any other. There are too many shades of gray. Nothing is black and white. Nothing determines if what one person believes is right really is. Everyone has a method to their madness -- they have their own idea of what is right and wrong. What's important is finding our own truth. -- But ... to answer your question. I guess I believe that there is something in us all that has the ability to live on. A spirit, a soul ... whatever you want to call it. There's something there that is so much more than what our genes give to us. Whether it lives on after our bodies stop functioning is more than I could tell you...--"  
  
"But ... do you believe that it does?"  
  
"I, ah-- I guess I do..." I paused, "Although... I can't say I really think about it too much. It's more something I have accepted as a very real possibility than -- ah, than... 'the way things are'..."  
  
"Oh..." Otacon responded, drooping over in his chair, his ruffled hair fell into his face, obscuring his features. He shrugged, letting out a dark and ironic chuckle, "I... -- I dunno... I guess I hoped you would have an answer... Some 'grand outlook on life' you could confide to me..." He sighed.  
  
"No one can answer that question, Otacon. It's something we need to determine for ourselves..."  
  
"I know, Snake... I used to -- I _do_ -- believe that those we love are with us forever, _somehow_. I just -- sometimes I wish science could _prove_ it." He looked up at me sadly.  
  
"I understand." I said sympathetically.  
  
There was another long pause.  
  
"I guess ... in a more real sense..." I picked up, "I believe that we live on through other people, through what we teach others, and what we leave them. Ideas, thoughts, memories, stories, opinions. Anything."  
  
Otacon perked up, looking at me with bright eyes, "Y-yeah**! ** That ... we live on through the hearts that we touch, right? Emma touched my heart, and now anyone else that I touch will carry on Emma's influence, just as they will carry on mine ... and yours..."  
  
"Ah, I _guess_ so...." I smiled slightly.  
  
"Of course so!" Otacon said, defensively, "You're my _friend_, Snake. And you've influenced me more than most people I could name. You're a part of me just as much as Sniper Wolf, or Axe, or my father, or even Emma."  
  
I smiled, "... Thanks..."  
  
Otacon cocked his head, smiling, "Not at all."  
  
"Hal... I miss you..." The parrot warbled. _Not again**!  
**_  
Otacon looked over at it in surprise, then stood up slowly. I watched as he took a step towards it, holding out his hand. It fluttered over to him and perched itself on his forearm. Quietly Otacon sat back down.  
  
"Sometimes ... though..." Otacon began, letting his eyes rest on the parrot, the one small splash of color in the whole cabin. "I really feel like... I'm just destined to _repeat_ my same mistakes... _My_ mistakes, my father's mistakes, my family's..."  
  
"You don't have to feel like that." I assured him, "You're not a _parrot_. You're not brainlessly repeating the same things over and over with no rhyme or reason. You're a human being, and you have control over your future. A parrot doesn't even know what it's saying. Parrots don't question their world. -- People aren't like that. People may make mistakes, but they're not stupid."  
  
Otacon smiled, looking up at me, "I -- I understand that... I don't always feel that way. It's just something that nags me at times like these... You know?"  
  
I nodded, "Mm-hm." I did know. I knew all to well the doubt that goes along with stress and fatigue. You begin to doubt not only yourself, but the whole world around you. It's not fun.  
  
Otacon sighed as he returned his gaze to the parrot. "I wish..." He didn't finish.  
  
"You can't _change_ the past..." I responded, "But ... if it's one thing I've learned over the years ... it's that you can _make_ a future."  
  
Otacon nodded, "I need to find a happy medium between living in the past ... and trying to forget about it completely... -- After Shadow Moses... I tried to leave my past completely behind me. Now that it all came back to me ... I can't help but think things would have been better if I had tried to make amends with Emma -- and my past, rather than run away from it. -- ... 'Coward' keeps ringing in my ears, Snake. It just keeps repeating in my head, like the droning of the parrot..." He glared at the parrot for a moment, but his features softened quickly.  
  
"Otacon, you're _not_ a coward. I know that, and you know that. You've already proven yourself multiple times... You've succeeded in the face of danger and fear where most people would have run for the hills before things even got serious. ... But... I know how you feel."  
  
"I gave in to the pain, Snake! I couldn't face my past, and I gave in ... and in that respect... I'm a coward..." he didn't look up, but watched the parrot intently, his expression dark.  
  
"You're not a coward, and don't let that stupid parrot make you think you are. -- Don't let it ruin your life." I frowned.  
  
"Do you know how ... that ... feels ...?" Otacon said, at first defensively, but trailed off as it occurred to him that I did know how it felt. I knew what it felt like to be a coward -- to lose someone that you care about because you were afraid... -- I knew, and he realized it.  
  
"Maybe, once, we gave in ... but we won't let it happen again... Maybe our actions lost us one battle... -- But we can't dwell on it. We have lives to live, we have a future to fight for. It may have been a high price to pay, but we learned a lesson from our failures, however hard it may be to accept..."  
  
Otacon looked up at me questioningly.  
  
I cleared my throat, nervously. But, before I could say anything, Otacon got up and flung his arms around me.   
  
"_You and me... We're the same..."_ He squeaked.  
  
"...?!"  
  
"Thank you, Snake... I think I can move on now. We may have lost someone we loved in the past... But -- they'll be with us forever now... -- And we have to fight for them, for their future. Love and war may not be able to exist together, but as long as we keep fighting..."  
  
I took his pause as an opportunity to free my arms, as his hug had confined them to my side. I held him out at arms length. He blinked at me questioningly.  
  
"As long as we keep fighting..." I assured him, "There's so much we don't know right now. We have to get back to work. We have to keep fighting."  
  
"You're right..." Otacon nodded.  
  
"If we keep fighting..." I nodded. The sun of a brand new day shown through the window, falling across our faces.  
  
"Then we won't be ... just ... parrots..."  
  
  
  


**fin.**  


  
  
  
  
NOTES:  
I had to fight with all my heart to prevent myself from having Otacon say "I've finally found my Shining thing!!" and "Grant me the power to bring the world.... REVOLUTION!!!" (_Revolutionary Girl Utena_ reference)  
  
Another challenge for me, that I tried very hard to meet (and was hopefully successful in doing) was writing as "Snake the Friend" rather than "Snake the Warrior" I wanted to show his caring side, but also remind you that he's still an astute, get-down-to-business kind of guy.  
Special thanks to Bad Ronald for all the help and support for this fic and my future projects!  
Plus, Otacon saying "You and me ... we're the same..." to Snake is rooted in the fact when Otacon did that monologue about he and his sister in MGS2, at first -- for some reason -- I thought he was talking about Snake ... what's cool is, the monologue works for both Emma and Snake, depending on how you look at it... Cool, huh?  
  
And now.... to get it out of my system so it doesn't end up in my actual fic...  
  
_Snake:_ Prepare for trouble**!**  
_Otacon:_ And make it double**!**  
_Snake:_ To protect the world from devastation**!**  
_Otacon:_To unite all people within our nation**!**  
_Snake_:To protect the freedoms of truth and love**!**  
_Otacon_:To extend our reach to the stars above**!**  
_Snake_:Snake**!**  
_Otacon_:Otacon**!**  
_Snake_:Philanthropy**!** We can't be beat**!**  
_Otacon_:Plus I am also fluent in L33t**!  
**_Parrot:_*_Wistle_* Time for a treat**!**  
  
XD XD XD Weeeeeee!!!!! ^__________^;;;;;  
Hacker jokes. Weeeee! ... Please don't Hax0r me....  
  
And now a word from Mr. Hippo.  
^___.__.___^ "Remember kids! Fire Safety! Have a fun and safe Holiday!"  
Thank you.  
:::Otaku Tess continues to malfunction from fan fic over load::: I NEED SCISSORS!!! SIXTY-ONE!!! DON'T SHOOT SNAKE, MERYL'S NOT HERSELF!!! BLEEEEEEEEE!!!! HONESTLY, I HAVE BEEN SITTING HERE A LONG TIME. WRITING THIS FAN FICTION. I DON'T SUPPOSE I HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO? YEP. JUST A LOSER. BUT, SERIOUSLY. IT DOES MY HEART GOOD TO SEE A CONSECUTIVE THREE NIGHTER GO TO GOOD USE. IKA NO ASHI WA OI! THE SQUID HAS MANY LEGS! USHI GA NOHARA DE "MUU MUU!" THE COW IN THE FIELD SAYS "MOO." CHOTO MATTE, KUDASAI. WATASHI BAKURO!! WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!  
  
**12-15-01 : **_Oh how I love the sound of the speckled space love compressor diving into the common wealth of the monster eating brain worms.  
Yeaap. So. Oh yeah. I was gonna say. The actual ending of MGS1 is the one where Meryl lives. Yep. She's quite alive... But I took the "Meryl Died" angle for this particular fic.  
Maybe one day I'll write a second ending.... Oh well.  
Back to my shameless noodling.  
Dare you mock me fried cyclops?! Does Homer even go to work on the Simpson's now? My this season is going down hill.... Weeeeee.... The reishi mushroom, also known as "The Spirit Plant" is said to have healing properties. So when in the wilderness of Japan, keep an eye out for this unique fungi._ _   
_


	4. Ch. 8 Alternate

**"PARROTS"  
**_By: Otaku Tess_  
**  
Chapter Eight  
_Alternate Ending_  
  
**  


There was a long silence after that. Snake got up momentarily to put more wood on the fire. I just sat there, not really thinking, just staring blankly at the fire. It brought back a sense memory that I couldn't quite place. But it was relaxing ... and I was tired.  
  
I was tired in just about every way a person could be tired.  
  
The Parrot slept peacefully on the mantel. I wondered momentarily what its name might be. What would Emma name her parrot? ... I shook the thought away.  
  
"Snake...?" I started after a moment.  
  
"Yeah, Otacon?" Snake asked gruffly, sitting back down.  
  
I sighed, "Why..." I looked away for a moment, biting my lip, "--I don't know... Sometimes I just wonder -- Why I even bother." Oh, shoot. That sounded bad.  
  
"Otacon?" He persisted, visibly concerned. It was unusual to see him like this. I mean, he's my friend, so of course I'd seen his caring side more than most people would have, but this was a new dimension -- It was nice to have someone around who cared. It was hard for me sometimes to sit and listen in via CODEC while he was out on missions, doing all the work. There had been a few occasions where I had insisted on going along, and that usually ended in his getting pretty POed at me. I'm not a soldier. I can't hold a gun. -- What I _can _do is the _easy_ part. I sighed.  
  
"Otacon?" He said again.  
  
So many missions he'd been on. He'd always come back alive and in one piece. Why was I ever even _worried_? This man had been blessed with skill and luck. He would probably out live most people he knew, despite his smoking, or the FOXDIE that was supposed to have killed him, or his life threatening missions in to destroy Metal Gear. He was _blessed_ as a survivor. An honorable survivor. -- Me. I'm _cursed_ as the survivor. I never even have the satisfaction of having risked my life... I'm the _dishonorable _survivor. Hiding in the shadows until everything is over with. I lost Sniper Wolf as I watched from the outside, unable to take any real action. Unable to be her hero. I lost my sister the same way... What was next? Was Snake going to be the next victim of my bad luck?  
  
"It's just ... sometimes -- I just feel like there can be no happy ending for me... -- I'm always the survivor. I'm always the one left feeling guilty or alone. -- What next, Snake? Do I lose you too?" I sighed, my hair fell into my eyes as I dropped my head. My tears formed small pools in the lenses of my glasses.  
  
"_Happy ending_..." Snake repeated, thoughtfully.  
  
_That's right_. He'd HAD his happy ending back on Shadow Moses. -- He and Meryl speeding off through the snow.... --So what if things didn't work out in the end? Where was it written that just because the hero gets the girl he has to keep her? I momentarily wondered why action hero movies never showed us what happened after the hero rides off into the sunset. Does it end the way Snake and Meryl did? Not with a bang but with a whimper? Waking up one day and deciding it was over? Departing as friends -- before they could become bitter? "You're thinking of her, aren't you...?" I asked after a moment.  
  
"...Meryl...?" He paused, "Yeah. That was _my_ happy ending." He snorted bitterly.  
  
"Oh, come on, Snake..." I frowned, "You can't tell me you don't at least still care about her -- She was your first love!" If I didn't _know better_, I'd have thought Snake was blushing a little ... must have been the fire light, though.   
  
"Well, in that respect. Yes..." He nodded after a moment, "She will ... always have a place in my heart." He sounded as though he were struggling to get the phrase out.  
  
"... Snake?"  
  
"Forget it, Otacon." He waved my comment away, "There was that whole age difference, and she was kind of needy, too ... and such a tomboy... Plus, we had different agendas. I was needed with Philanthropy. And.. She didn't want to have to deal with that..." Snake sighed.  
  
"I don't blame her..." I said softly.  
  
"... If she had been willing to join..." Snake said, I noticed his gaze had turned to the fire, "... Maybe things would have been different..."  
  
Hah! I knew it... I knew he still loved her! "Oh..." I said, as the gravity of his situation hit me, "You mean...-- I'm sorry, Snake."  
  
"Hey, duty calls." He sighed, looking back to me, "Maybe someday the war will end and we can see each other again."  
  
"Don't wait too long... You might wake up one day and find out its too late." I uttered softly.  
  
"Words can weigh you down..." Snake said sympathetically, but I wasn't really listening.  
  
I looked quietly to the parrot. It was still asleep. I half wanted it to speak up again, just for an excuse to cry. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. -- All I wanted to do was apologize. All I wanted to do was let her know that I cared for her and always had. I needed her to understand...!  
  
"I'm such a loser!" I blurted, "I'm sorry... Forgive me, Emma..." I sniffed, as a fresh stream of tears trickled down my cheeks.  
  
Snake let out a sigh, "Emma can't forgive anyone anymore."  
  
I glanced up at him and nodded. "I-- I know... I just wish I could at least tell her ... at least let her know that I love her. That I've always loved her...-- that I want my sister back!" I sniffled.  
  
Snake was silent for a long moment, then finally Spoke, "'Death is not defeat.'"  
  
"Hemingway..." I muttered, looking up in surprise as I wiped my tears away, Snake was smiling softly. I was surprised such a thought would come from Snake. He always seemed to me to be the type that just thought "Dead is Dead." And left it at that. "Do you ... believe that?"  
  
"Well... I suppose I do. Though I said it more because it sounded like something you might have said to me. -- I don't think about death too much. -- It's a trait I picked up on the battlefield, I guess. I spent too much time living in the moment to be worried about what would have happened if I ever died. I guess the occasional nagging thought that _nothing_ happened was what kept me alive. Knowing that if I died that would be it."  
  
"Hmm..." I grummbled, feeling worse than ever.  
  
"But..." He began again, I perked up, "That was back when I only fought for myself. When I only did it to feel alive -- Now, though..." He paused again, "Once you find a cause -- someone to live for, something to fight for... It gives you a whole different perspective on life -- and death. But still, I find that it doesn't really matter what I _believe_, because what will happen is going to happen regardless of what I personally think... But, I suppose..." He paused, "If I were to tell you what I would like to imagine happens... I would have to say that I think people live on through each other. We leave each everyone we meet a part of ourselves, at least we do if we're willing to share ourselves with them...-- If someone never lets themselves fall in love, or get close to another person ... then they might as well be dead. You have to be able to live for someone, before you can die for them. But.... these are just thoughts. Take them at face value, okay?"  
  
I nodded. Snake wasn't offering me a path to enlightenment. He was offering me his personal feelings ... which to me was a little more comforting at this point. I didn't need a religion or a philosophy. I needed a friend.  
  
Now that I knew for certain that I had one... Things seemed a little easier to handle now.  
  
"Hal... I miss you." The parrot cooed softly, waking up again.  
  
I stood slowly, holding out my arm to it. It hopped onto my hand and I sat back down. "Parrots..." I muttered.  
  
"Huh?" Snake grunted.  
  
"Oh... It's just...--" I held out the parrot to him, "See? My whole family ... has been making the same mistakes, as far back as I can count. Our history with nuclear weapons or plain old bad luck in war, our inherent loneliness and need to be loved ... at least one of those traits has been handed down to every Emmerich I could name. It's almost as if nobody ever bothered to stop and think that they were repeating history with their actions. Like... -- Emma..." I shook my head, "how could she have gotten involved in all of that?"  
  
"Hal..." The parrot said, cocking its head.  
  
"She did the right thing in the end. The same as you." Snake said comfortingly, "No use worrying about it now."  
  
"You're right. What's important now..." I said, walking over to the window, "Is that the actions have been stopped in their tracks. No more repeating mistakes."  
  
I opened the window as the sun crept over the horizon, casing a panel of light across the faces of all in the room. I blinked a moment, shading my eyes with my free hand.  
  
After a pause, I extended the parrot out the opened window, and shook my hand gentley. It took the hint, and flew off with an exited flap of its wings. I watch for a moment as it made its way gracefully over the trees.  
  
"The parrot is free."  
  
  
  


**END.  
**  


  
**Notes**:   
_Well, here I am again. Writing notes. ^-^ ahh.. First of all, my reasons for writing for this are due to the fact that my original ending went along with the (fake) ending, where Meryl dies. Here I have addressed the ending where Meryl lives. Kudos to you if you noticed my Role reversal. I wanted to use some of the dialogue from the Otacon ending, and decided it would be interesting to have them switch lines for the fic. I'm pretty pleased with that, at least. ^_^  
And THANK YOU to Mika-Chan who suggested I write this chapter from Otacon's perspective. It REALLY helped me out. ^___^ I also wish to thank all my FF.net friends whom I IM with, you know who you are... Plus everybody who reviewed my work, or read my work, or reviews anybody's work for that matter... Everyone here is so incredibly nice and constructive. You guys are a billion times nicer that other FanFic forum/website people I have encountered. Thank you for the encouragement.  
AAAND... Now for some things I had to kick myself in the butt to prevent myself from putting them in the fic:_  
SNAKE: "Death is not defeat."  
OTACON: Hemingway...  
SNAKE: Yeah. That means that ... you know, just because a person is pronounced dead doesn't mean there's no hope. You know how people in hospitals can get a flat line, and then the doctors take out those paddles and yell "Clear!" and then the beeping comes back so they're not dead anymore. Wow. Hemingway just thinks of everything.  
OTACON: Stop making fun of me... ¬_¬  
_And...  
_OTACON: Just do me a favor, okay, Snake?  
SNAKE: Yeah?  
OTACON: Don't ever get a step Mom, because I can't make any promises.  
  
_Now for a "preview" (of sorts) of my next project.  
My next project, currently titled "Crimson Tinted Lenses" (liable to change) will be about Otacon's involvement in the happenings at Shadow Moses (from when Fox-Hound arrives to the end of the game) from his POV. Each chapter (or at least SOME chapters, depending on what I decide on) will include a flash back to an incident in his past.  
There are SEVERAL things mentioned in "Parrots" regarding to Otacon's past, as well as his feelings about his past, that I am going to change when I write "Crimson."  
I don't feel that what I wrote here is as Canon as it could be...  
Observe this useful information I obtained:   
_"ArmsTECH METAL GEAR Project chief engineer.   
Wears glasses, and has a friendly nature but he is a weapon development genius. He did not attend school but studied through the Internet and matriculated at MIT. Earned his Ph.D. at an early age. Earned his bachelors and masters degrees at Princeton -- a genius too young."  
_While this is grammatically a little confusing... It appears Otacon didn't go to proper school until College. So I am thus eradicating his time at conventional school from "Crimson." Also, his obtaining a Ph.D. at an early age leads me to believe he was more like 19, 20, or 21 when he got it. ALSO, if he got his _bachelors_ and _Masters_ degrees from Princeton, that would mean he went to Princeton FIRST._  
"In his college years, he put together a program to solve the year 2000 digit changing problem in computers and drew major attention as the savior of the computer world. Came up with the idea but earned no money from it. ..."  
_My guess would be that he did this while at MIT, not Princeton._  
"Loves Japanimation (Japanese animation). His nickname "Otacon" comes from the "OTAKU CONVENTION" which is a fan event of Japanese animation held in the US, and of which he is a regular participant."  
_OtaKon didn't start until 1993. Oh, and I felt I gave Otacon too many friends... LOL, poor guy.  
Just want to give a heads up. I think I have things pretty much Canon in my notebook. I drew out a time line and everything. I changed Otacon's age (during the Shadow Moses incident) to 30, instead of 32. I wanted to get him graduated ASAP. ^_^ If only I had a definite peg on Emma's age... Though in my time line she's 20 when she dies. ;_;  
Thank You._


End file.
